Fertilizer distributor



Nov. s, 1927. 1,648,658

F. A. NIRIDER LfEERTILI ZER DISTRIBUTOR Eltfozneq Jn/151%@ @a Nov. F8, l:l 927.

F. AuNlRlDER -:FERTILIZER DISTRIBUTQR eet 2 Filed Dec. 20, 419255 MTA/E s F. A. NlRmER FERTILIZER DISTRIBUTOR Nov. 8, 192 7.v

Filed Dec. 2a. 1923 Vfmffw Nov. 8, 1927.` v 1,648,658

-. F. A. NIRIDER FERTILIZER DISTRIBUTOR Filed Dec. 20, 1925 5 Sheets-,sheet 5 Fred /VZ'H' der" Patented YNov. 8, 1927.

UNITED STATES FRED A NIRIDER, 0F LOOGOOTEE, ILLINOIS.

FERTILIZER DISTRIBUTOR Application led December 20, 1923. Serial No. 681,856.

This invention appertai'ns to a novel machine for distributing various kinds of fertilizer, such as manure, straw, lime and the like and is an-improvement over my prior Patent #1,333,818 issued to me March 16, 1920.

One of the primary objects of the present invention is to provide a novel means for carrying the fertilizer back into the agitators or distrlbutors, said means including a plurality of independent conveyor belts arranged longitudinally of the body of the device and at the lower end thereof.

Another object of the invention is the provision of novel means for operating the conveyor belts from both of the rear ground wheels of the machine, thereby effectively insuring the operation of said belts when under load.

Another object of the invention is the pro vision of novel means for intermittently operating the belts, so as to prevent the rear distributor or agitator members from becoming clogged and the distributing of too great a quantity of fertilizer in one place.

Another object of the invention is the provision of novel means for taking up slack in said conveyor belts, thereby eifectlvelypreventing the clogging thereof.

A further object of the invention is the provision of novel distributor or agitator members disposed at the rear end of the Inachine for effectively distributing both fine material such as lime and coarse mateLial such as straw over a relatively great area of ground.

A further object of the invention is the provision of novel means including an end gate for limiting the flow of fine material such as lime, to the distributing pan over which the lime fans or distributors operate.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a novel distributing belt removably arranged w'ithin the body of the distributing machine so as to permit the device to effectively distribute coarse material such as straw, and novel means for adjusting t?? position of said belt.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved fertilizer distributing device which will operate under all conditions, which will be durable and eicient in use, one that will be simple and easy to manufacture. and one which can be placed upon the market at a reasonable cost.

With these and other objects in View, the

invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and formation of parts, as will be hereinafter more specifically described, claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved fertilizer distributor.

Figure 2 a top plan view of the same.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary elevation of the rear shaft showing the means for operating one of the conveyor belts, parts of the operatingl means with the conveyor belts being shown in section.

Figure 4 is a detail sectional View illustrating one of the clutch members utilized for operatively connecting the main drive shaft with one of the ground wheels.

Figure 5 is a rear elevation of the improved distributor.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary rear elevation o1' the rear distributor showing parts thereof broken away to illustrate the use of the gate for limiting the flow of fine material `to the distributing fan.

Figure 7 is a detail fragmentary plan View illustrating the means for driving the conveyor belts from the main drive shaft.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary side elevation of the driving means for the conveyor belts illustrating the intermittent feed therefor.

Figures 9 and 10 are detail side elevations of the companion parts of the ratchet mechanism for e'ecting the drive of the opposite ends of the main drive shaft from the drive or bull wheels, and

Figure 11 is a transverse vertical section through the body of the distributor illusl trating the means of mounting the distributor belt for the straw therein. f

Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the letter A generally indicates the improved fertilizer distributor, which includes a wagon body 10 mounted upon the running gear 11 of any preferred tvpe. of wagon. The running gear 11 includes the front wheels 12 and the rear ground or bull wheels 13.y The forward end of the running gear is provided with any referred type of tongue 14 to permit the iitching of draft animals thereto.f It is of' course understood that the improved fertilizer distributor can be connected to a tractor if so desired.

The Wagon body 10 is preferably of a strong and rigid construction and includes side walls 15, which can be arranged in d1- ver ng relation to each other if so desired. 'le fertilizer material to be distributed 1s Adumped directly into the wagon bodylO and is fed to the rear end thereof by my improved type of conveyor, lwhich includes a central conveyor belt 16 and slide conveyor belts 17 and 18. The provision of three conveyor belts instead of one forms a vital improvement over my prior patent, in view of the fact that when a single conveyor belt is used, the same when .under heavyload is liable to slip and not Veffectively feed the material to the rear end of the Wagon body.

Each conveyor belt includes a pair of s ced chains 19 connected togetherby suita leiights or slats,20 and the forward stretches of these chains travel oversuitable sprocket wheels 21 rotatably mounted on a forward shaft 22. The sprocket chains 19 at their rea-r stretches travel overv pairs of sprocket wheels 23, which are rotatably lmounted on a rear shaft 24;. T hese sprocket wheels 23 are provided with interiorly conicalhubs 25, which are adapted to be engaged by cone clutch members 26,which are splined upon the shaft 24. These clutch members 26 can be operated in any preferred way and can be held in an adjusted position, if so desired by means of suitable set screws 27. By this construction it can be seen that certain of the conveyorbelts can be disconnected from the shaft 24, whenthe load is too heavy to permit all of the belts to be operated simultaneously. The shaft 24 is rotatably mounted vin suitable bearings carried by the wagon body or running gear. The

. forward shaft 22 is vpreferably carried by slide blocks 28 which are mounted in guideways 29 carried by the wagon body. These slide blocks 28 are 4adjusted through the medium of screws 30 and by turning these screws 30 any slack which may be in the conveyor belts can be taken up. It

In order to bring about the driving of the conveyor belts and other parts of the mechanism, which will be hereinafter more fully described, the hubs of the rear `ground or bull wheels 13 are provided with sprocket wheels 31. These sprocket wheels 31 aregeared with the opposite terminals of a drive shaft 32 through the medium of sprocket chains 33 whichare trained over sprocket wheels 33 which are rotatabl. mounted upon the drive shaft 32. Rotata ly mounted upon the shaft 32 in abutting relation to the sprocket Wheels 33 are sprocket Wheels 71. It is preferredto connect and disconnect the sprocket wheels 71 with and from the shaft 32 through the medium of sliding clutches 34 ywhich can be 1f/,operated from the forward i" bud of the wagon" body by means of hand levers 35. The lower ends ofthe hand levers have pivotally connected thereto rearwardly extending operating rods 36, the rear ends of which are connected to suitable bell cranks 37. The 4bell cranks 37 are in turn connected to a yoke 38 for engaging the sliding members 34 of the clutches. The sprocket wheels 33 are connected with the sprocket wheels 71 by means of spring actuated pawls 74 which engage ratchet Wheels 75 carried by the sprocket `wheels 33. This connection forms a differential mechanism, so as to permit the turning of the distributor` without the slipping of the ground wheels 13. The shaft 32 is mounted in suitable bearings carried by the body of the fertilizer distributor and is connected through the medium of friction wheels 39 and 40 with a driven shaft 41, which is also rotatablyy mounted in suitable bearings carried by the wagon body.4 One terminal of the driven shaft 4l carries a crank 42 which operates a pitman rod 43. This pitman rod 43 aetuates asector wheel 44 rotatably mounted on a suitable stub shaft 45. This sector wheel 44-engages a pinion 46 keyed to or otherwise sennmd to the shaft 24. By this construction it can be seen that the conveyor belts 16, 17 and 18 are intermittently operated for effectively feeding the -secured by brackets 55 to the Wagonv body.

These scattering members 50 and 51 are so constructed as to effectively scatter both coarse material such as straw and fine material such as lime and each one of the shafts 52 and 53 has secured thereto at s aced points straw distributing members 56. 1ach of these members consists of a hub 57 and radially extending arms 58 which are provided with prongs at their terminals. The lower ends of the shafts` 52 and 53 have se cured thereto, directly above a feed pan 59 on which the lime is adapted to be received, fans 60v which engage the lime and throw the same over a relatively wide area of ground. These shafts 52 and 53 extend below the pan and are connected by means of beveled gears 61 with a transversely extending dri-ven shaft 62, which is mounted in suitable bearings carried by the framlV '54. If so desired this driven shaft 62 can be driven from the ground or bull Wheels 14 in any preferred way, but in order to relieve the ground wheels 13 from too much weight, I prefer to operate the shaft 62 from a small motor 64 l of the gasolinetype which can be mounted ltr upon a shelf 65 secured to the wagon bed. The crank shaft of the motor 64: is connected by a suitable sprocket chain 66 with a drive sprocket on the shaft 62. In order to permit the driving of the shaft 62 from the shaft 32, when so desired, these shafts can be provided with aligned sprocket wheels 76 and 77 for the reception of a drive sprocket chain (not shown). 1

When the fertilizer distributing device is used for distributing fine material such as lime and the like it is preferred to provide some means for limiting' the flow of the material to the fans 60, and in order toaccomplish this I provide an end gate 78 secured to the side walls 15 of the body l() in any preferred way adjacent to the rear ends o-f the distributor belts 16, 17 and 18. The lower end of the gate terminates short of the distributor belts and if so desired this gate can be provided with a slidable section 79 so as to regulate the distance between the same andthe distributor belts and this sect-ion can be raised and lowered by any suitable means, such as ropes 80 operating over drums 81 keyed to a shaft 82. This shaft can be operated by cranks 83 disposed adjacent tol the drivers seat.

When coarse material is being distributed such as manure, straw and the like, I arrange an auxiliary feed belt 67 directly within the body of the wagon and adjacent to the rear end of the conveyor belts 16, 17 and 18. This feed belt 67 is preferably mounted in such a manner as to permit the same to be conveniently removed when lime is being handled and also permit the same to be adjusted to regulate the feed. This belt 67 as shown is arranged in an incdined plane and is trained about suitable lupper and lower pairs of sprocket wheels. The upper pair of sprocket wheels 68 are mounted upon a shaft 84 carried by a frame 85 which is utilized for supporting the said feed belt.. The lower end of the frame is provided with bearing sleeves 86 which are `rockably mounted in suitable bearings 87 carried by the side walls 15 of the wagon body 10. Thus it can KE seen that the-frame is mounted for'sw-ingingmovement. The lower pair of sprocket wheels 68 are keyed to a. rotatable shaft 88 ywhich extends thro-ugh the bearing sleeves 86. The opposite terminals of the shaft 88 have keyed thereto drive sprocket wheels 69 which are connected by kmeans of sprocket chains with the sprocket wheels 71 carried by the shaft 32. One of the bearing sleeves 86 is provided with a depending crank arm 89 and inl order to regulate the feed the angle of the frame 85 and the belt 67 is changed. The rocking of the frame can be accomplished in any desired manner, such as by a hand leverv 72 held in an adjusted position by a pawl and rack segment 7 The lower a pan carried by the rear end of t end of this lever| has connected thereto a link 90 which is connected to; the lower end of the crank arm 89. It is obvious that by manipulating` the lever 72 that the angle of the feed belt 67 can be changed and held in any desired adjusted position.

From the foregoing description, it -can be seen that I have provided an improved fertilizer distributor of simple and durable character, which will effectively distribute all kinds of fertilizer materials.

Changes in details may be made without departing from the spirit or the scope of this invention.

What I claim as new is:

1. In a machine for distributing coarse and fine fertilizing material, a wagon body,

e wagon body, rotary scatterers carried by the rear end of the body including fans located above andv adjacent to the pan for distributing fine material, means for feeding the fertilizing material to the pan including an endless conveyor, means for operating the conveyor from the traction wheels of the wagon body, and a gate mounted above the pan for vertical adjustment with respect thereto for limiting the feed of the fine material to the pan. Y

2. In a fertilizing distributor, a running gear including front and rear lground wheels, a body upon the running gear for receiving the material to be distributed, a pan carried by the rear end of the body, a longitudinally extending conveyor arranged in the body for feeding material to the pan, means fory operating the conveyor from the rear ground wheels, upright rotatable shafts mounted above the pan, means for operating the shafts at a relatively high rateI of speed, radiating arms carried by the shafts and located above the pan for distributing relatively coarse material, fans secured to said shafts and arranged adjacent to the pan for distributing fine material, a removable gate within the body, including a lower section adjustable with respect to the pan for controlling the How of ne material to the pan, and a removable inclined conveyor associated with-the bodyadj acent to the rear end thereof for feeding coarse material to the radiating arms.

3. In a fertilizer distributing machine, a body supported for travel, a pan arranged substantially within the plane of the bottom of the body at the rear end thereof, an endless conveyor mounted for travel in the bottom of the body for conveying the material to be distributed to the said pan, spaced upright shafts mounted for rotation above t e said pan, the lower portions of the shafts extending downwardly through the pan, means operatively coacting with the lower ends of the shafts and located beneath the pan for imparting rotary motion to the said shafts, radial fan blades carried bythe shafts and positioned directly above the pan, a gate within the rear end of the body comprising an upper fixed sectionand a lower section mounted for vertical sliding adjustment with respect to the forward portion of the pan for controlling the supply of fertilizing material to the pan, and means operable to adjust the said lower section of the gate.

4. In fertilizing distributing mechanism, feeding` means for the fertilizer, and distributing means to which the fertilizer is fed by the feeding means, and said feeding means 4including spaced shafts, sprocket gears upon said shafts arranged in groups, endless conveyors trained over the sprocket gears of the respective groups whereby to be v independently movable with their stretches parallel, clutch members rotatable with one of the shafts in juxtaposition to the sprocket gears thereon and adjustable into and out of coactive.v engagement with the respective sprocket gears, means for selectively holding the clutch members in and out of engagement with the respective sprocket gears, whereby to selectively render the respective conveyors active and inactive, and means for rotating the last mentioned shaft.

5. In a fertilizer distributor, a running gear, ya body upon the running gear for containing the material \to be distributed, a pan carried at the rear end of the body, a conveyor arranged Within the bod for travel at the bottom thereof for feeding material to the pan, means `for operatin the conveyor from the running gear, upright shafts mounted for rotation above the pan, means for rotating said shafts, radiating arms carried by the shafts and located above the pan for distributing .relatively coarse material, fans secured to said shafts and arranged above and adjacent to the pan for distributing fine material, a gate at the rear end of the body including a lower section ad'ustable 4with .respect to the pan for controlling the flow of ne material to the pan, an inclined conveyor arranged within the body in advance of the said gate, means operating the conveyor to feed coarse material to the radiating arms, and means operable to angularly adjust the conveyor whereby to vary its position with respect to the bottom of the body and thereby regulate the feed of the coarse material.

In testimony whereof I aix my signature.

FRED A. NIRIDER. 

